The Seven in High School
From The Seven In High School on Wattpad by @Alyyang123. http://www.wattpad.com/story/6259740-the-seven-in-high-school-percy-jackson-fanfiction "The Seven have done well." Zeus calmly sat on his throne along with the rest of the Olympians and Hades, staring at Piper and her friends. She vaguely felt Jason squeeze her hand, his warm breath still tingling in the air. She shook off the feeling and let go, staring at the electric blue eyes of the King of the Gods. Just like Jason... No. Concentrate, Piper. She told herself. This is not the time to get lost thinking about eyes or such nonsense. "-reward them?" Aphrodite, or Mom, was saying with a tinkling laugh that eased the tension of the demigods standing uncomfortably in the room. "What do you say, Percy?" Poseidon asked, his sea green eyes full of mischief. Percy's head was facing the other way, but Piper could picture the expression on his face. "I would personally like to lead a normal life. Please. With-" He gazed nervously at Athena. "Annabeth." Athena stood up with a kind of deadly calm. "Perseus Jackson, do you promise to love my daughter and care for her? Never to cheat on her or leave her? Do you swear on the River Styx?" Thunder rumbled, and Piper now saw the passion etched on his face. "I swear to the River Styx that I will never leave Annabeth, cheat on her, and I will always love and care for her." He said, and the outside sky shook once again. "Then very well. I will allow your relationship." Percy sighed. "But, if you ever mistreat her, you will have to deal with me." Athena had an excellent poker face, and Piper shivered at the thought if Athena ever said that to her. "Annabeth Chase, what do you wish for?" Zeus asked. Annabeth's face turned to look at Percy, a small twinkle in her eyes. "I wish to have Aphrodite give me and Percy her blessing that we will always be together." She said, and Percy gave a small grin. Piper thought that was an excellent request, as that would promise no meddling from her mother. "I cannot promise not to give you a complicated relationship." Aphrodite said, and the young couple turned pale. "But, I can assure you end up with each other." They sighed in relief. Piper smiled faintly. She wished Jason and her could be as relaxed as Percy and Annabeth, who were very clearly in love. "Piper McLean, what do you want?" Zeus said once more. Jason looked at her and she knew the answer to that question. "I wish the same as Annabeth." She said, catching her friend's eye. Annabeth raised an eyebrow and Piper blushed to the extent of a ripe tomato. Aphrodite gave her signature giggle. "Young love." She said, finally muffling her laughs in a very lady-like handkerchief. Piper wondered how she could be related like someone like that, especially as her mother. "Well?" Piper mumbled under her breath impatiently. Jason gave her a searching look and she looked back at his electric blue ones... "-agree." Aphrodite said. "You will remain a couple at the end." That wasn't necessarily reassuring, especially since her mother loved twist and turns in a love story. "Jason Grace." Hera said. "What do you request?" Everyone turned to see Jason looking at the ground, appearing to be thinking hard. "I wish that I lead a normal teenager life." He said at last, and Percy gave Piper and Jason a look like Dude! What's with copying my and Annabeth's wishes? Jason returned a Well, they were good. look and Percy turned around to stare at Annabeth. Piper suppressed a giggle as Annabeth looked back at him. "Very well, son. Your wishes will be approved." Zeus said, and with that he turned to look at the remaining three: Frank, Hazel and Leo. "Leo Valdez, what do you want?" Zeus asked, looking hard at the shrinking Leo. Leo looked around and backed away from Zeus's booming voice. "Why is this so formal?" He asked. "I mean everyone is wearing either a tuxedo or a dress except for me." That was true. Piper thought as she looked around. Even Percy and Annabeth were wearing a tuxedo with a crooked tie and a gray chiton gown. Leo however was dressed in a LEO FOR THE LADIES T-shirt and black bicycle shorts. "Valdez, your wish." Zeus's voice boomed again, and Piper shivered at the thought of his powerful voice. "Oh, um..." Leo looked at the floor and fiddled with his tool belt. "I wish that I'll eventually get a girlfriend someday." Piper stifled a giggle. Oh Leo, he was hopeless. "Hazel Levesque!" Zeus- no, now Jupiter, announced into the echoing of the palace. Hazel stepped out of the small crowd. "What do you wish for?" "I wish to lead a normal life. That is all." Hazel said unflinchingly, gazing nonchalantly at Jupiter. He nodded and motioned her to back away. "And Frank Zhang." Jupiter looked at Frank. "What reward do you hope for?" Frank thought for a moment before he answered. "I wish to lead a regular mortal life." The big guy said. Piper clutched Jason's hand tightly. Everyone was so romantic these days... Jupiter nodded. "We will have an discussion about your requests. Demigods, please leave." The Seven found themselves suddenly outside the palace, next to a fountain where nymphs were playing. Leo immediately stood up, but Piper smacked him. "What do you want to do?" Percy asked the rest of the demigods. Jason and Frank shrugged, but apparently Annabeth already had an idea. "Why don't we go and examine a few artifacts? I'm pretty sure the Arrows of Hercules or the Shield of Achilles is here somewhere?" The guys groaned, but Piper and Hazel were pretty thrilled with the idea. "Let's go!" Piper said, jumping onto the fountain wall and hopping off again to examine a plaque on the side. "Fountain gift from Athens." "Oh my gods. This place is full of history!" Annabeth squealed like a little kid. But before they could see more, they were suddenly back inside the throne room. "So the Council has been talking, and we have decided to send you to high school!" Zeus, not Jupiter anymore, said. Percy looked panicked. "No wait! That's not what I meant by a normal life!" But, it was too late. There was already a black void swirling around Zeus's chair, and Piper and the others were sucked in. Percy could only remember Zeus announcing they had to go to school and a black vortex before he went to sleep. But when he woke up, he was exceptionally tired. He opened his eyes to find him on a bed with a clean mattress and pale blue sheets. The room was painted an aquamarine shade, and all the furniture was a deep turquoise. There were sky windows, and it looked around dawn. Percy got up unsteadily and groaned. His head was throbbing for some strange reason, and he crouched downwards to find some iced water in the mini fridge near his bed. He found a container of bottled water not quite frozen yet, and dumped it on his head until it was empty. Much better. He stood up, feeling newly energized, and walked toward the door until he saw his reflection from the polished door handle. "What in Hades am I wearing?" Percy mumbled, looking down. He had on ripped blue jeans like the kind Thalia usually wore, and a black leather hoodie. He had no idea how he hadn't noticed that before. Ripping off the hoodie and the ragged pants, he found a clean Camp T-shirt that smelled alright and regular jeans, a little saggy, but it would do. He then proceeded into the bathroom and tried to flatten his hair with the tap water. Percy opened the door and stepped into a a huge hall, complete with custard yellow paint and an elegant red carpet. A crystal chandelier hung sparkling on the ceiling, and curtained windows were all around. He touched a curtain gingerly and could tell it was velvet from the way the soft fabric scraped his skin. Next to the window closest to him was a door that read in white on black (best for dyslexic eyes) Annabeth Chase. Smirking, he pushed opened the door gently. He was greeted with a catalog of gray. The whole room seemed to be from an old-fashioned movie, the ones which were no color. The only bright splashes were from the closet, the sky windows, and a flash of blond on the bed. Moving closer, he could see the face of Annabeth smiling, her chest puffing in and out, in and out. He kept on stepping forward until his knees were touching the bed, and his girlfriend's face was in expanded view. "Annabeth." He whispered in her ear. "Annabeth." She shook a little bit and rolled over, groaning something he couldn't fathom. Percy was out of options. He could either 1. Shake Annabeth awake and have her kill him or 2. Spray Annabeth with water and have her kill him. Both had very gruesome endings. Giving up, he slipped out of the room and moved on. Another plaque said Jason Grace. Smiling, Percy opened the door to enter. "Whoa." Was all he could say. The room was an shocking yellow. Just staring at it too long made Percy's eyes water. On the bed Jason was sleeping calmly. Smirking, Percy moved over and shook Jason hard. Suddenly Jason's eyes flew open and he tried to grab his coin from his pocket. Percy realized that Jason wasn't wearing any fashion statement, just a purple T-shirt and worn jeans. Lucky duck. He thought. "Dude, it's me. Wake up." Percy said, turning to leave. He heard Jason mutter a few curses, and chuckling, left to scare his next victim. It turned out it was Piper who Percy had to wake up next. As soon as he twisted the doorknob, he realized Piper would not be happy with her room. It was all pink, ranging from a reddish color to the palest peach. There was a makeup table stacked with items begging to be used, and Piper was sleeping on a heart-shaped bed with pillows full of pink unicorns and crowns and lipstick marks. As soon as he was sure Katropis was not in reach of Piper (She was almost as vicious as Annabeth, that girl), he sneaked up to her and willed tap water to splash onto her. She woke up immediately. "PERCY JACKSON I"M GOING TO-" She started, but he hushed her with his hand. Smiling, he pointed at her clothes. "Before you kill me, look at what you're wearing first." He said, trying to push down his laughter. She had on a hot pink ballgown style dress, with roses embedded on the top and her hair in a braid with a pink hairband. She gasped. "Consider yourself lucky this time, Jackson." Piper said, stalking to her closet to change. Percy closed the door almost collapsing in laughter. Leo Valdez hung on the doorway of a charred door. Opening the door, he saw Leo, wearing Spongebob boxers, attempting to juggle balls of fire. "Leo?" Percy asked, having another fit of laughter. "I see you are already awake." Leo turned so red his hair burst on fire. Closing the door and finally being able to breathe properly, Percy walked over to Frank's room. Before he could open the door, he heard arguing between Frank and what sounded like Hazel. "Frank, I'm not in love with Leo! I love you, you know!" Hazel screeched. Percy winced in sympathy for Frank. Girls were extremely scary creatures sometimes. "Hazel, I only want us to be more together. Every time I look at Leo, he's staring at you. Wouldn't you be infuriated if a girl kept on staring at me?" Frank said, trying to sound calm, but Percy could detect panic in his words. "I wouldn't because I know you love me." Hazel snapped, and Percy dove behind a flowerpot as Hazel, who was wearing a white flower print tunic and black leggings, slammed the door to Frank's room and ran, sobbing, into her room. Percy decided that now was not a good time to call them to breakfast. Instead, he opened the last door that read Stairs and headed to the dining room. After toasting a blueberry muffin, he stuffed it down and looked into the refrigerator to look for Orange Juice. Just as he finished the last of his breakfast, Piper, Jason, and Leo walked downstairs. "Where's Hazel, Frank, and Annabeth?" Jason asked, plopping himself on a cushioned wicker chair. Piper, who was now in a green tank top and jeans, pulled out the seat next to him and went to toast some bread, while Leo, who had finally put on jeans and a greasy and charred T-shirt with a tool belt, found the coffee machine. "Hazel and Frank got into a fight and Annabeth's sleeping." Percy said, willing the water and sponge to clean the dirty dishes. The look on Jason' face was priceless. "You let her sleep and made us wake up at seven?" Jason asked, his purple Camp Jupiter shirt tingling with electricity. "I didn't want to be killed." Percy said matter-of-factly, leaving the sink and heading upstairs. "You can try to wake her up instead." Jason backed away. "Actually, I have changed my mind. Let her sleep, because she was up that whole other night fighting Gaea." Percy nodded in understanding. "So you now understand my brilliant logic." He said, flashing a grin. "I'm going to look for a map of this place." Before he could leave the room, however, Frank, wearing his Vancouver shirt, came down with a silent Hazel. "Hi." Frank said, looking uncomfortable. "Where's Annabeth?" "Sleeping." Percy said, brushing past the two silent Romans. As he stepped up the stairs, he saw Annabeth, wearing a gray T-shirt and jeans, stepping down. "Why didn't anyone wake me up earlier?" She yawned, and Percy saw she had tiny dark circles around her eyes. "You seemed too tired." Percy said. Annabeth gave a feeble smile and walked downstairs slowly, into the tensioned dining room. Hazel and Frank weren't looking at each other, and Leo was staring at Hazel. Oh brother. Percy thought. This was going to be a complicated year. The days flew by, slowly at first, then quickly again, as the summer green slowly morphed into fall orange, red, and yellow. It was the eve of August 17th, however, when the demigods first got a message from the gods. Jason sat on the end of the dining table, holding hands with Piper, while Annabeth took the head, sneaking glances at Percy, who was next to Piper and Frank. They were slowly eating pepperoni pizza (except cheese, for Piper) and Leo's pizza was on fire, making Hazel edge closer to Annabeth. "Whaddoyoushinkwahabbenwenweegodoschew?" Leo asked, his mouth stuffed with burnt pizza. Clearing his throat and swallowing the black mass inside his mouth, he repeated his question. "What do you think will happen when we go to school?" Piper shrugged, fiddling with the cheese on her plate. "Maybe the gods will send us a message or something like that." She offered. Jason thought about it. Maybe some god would Iris-Message them, or leave them a message, or even call them on Annabeth's cell phone. "Wait- LEO! WHY IN HADES DID YOU SET THE HOUSE ON FIRE??" Piper's loud shriek rang through the building as the acrid smell of smoke burned Jason's lungs and his eyes. Just as quickly, the fire disappeared, leaving no sign of it's presence, and left a crisp and unscorched letter on the table. It took forever to read, but Jason managed to make it out at the end: Dear Peter Johnson, Annie Belle Carson, Priscilla McDonald, John Green, Harriet Letterman, Leonardo Vexter, and Finnick Wang, You will attend school at exactly 8:20 in the morning. Aphrodite will dress you up in the morning. NOTE: YOU CANNOT DRESS IN DIFFERENT CLOTHES THEN WHAT YOU ARE WEARING EXCEPT FOR GYM. Thank you for your patience! Hermes, Messenger of the gods. "Dionysus must have done the names." Annabeth said, eyeing the paper with disapproval. "He called me Annie Bell Carson. What kind of name is that?: "Oh, at least you have it easy. I'm Priscilla McDonald, for Hades' sake!" Piper said, wrinkling her nose. Leo stifled a laugh. "Shut up, Leonardo Vexter." "John Green. That sounds like some kinda florist here, or maybe a child of Demeter." Percy joked, reading the letter slowly. "Cereal! Go and eat cereal!" He mimicked a old woman's high pitched tones. "Oh, you are so on, Peter Johnson." Jason laughed back. "I mean like your name reminds me of Bacchus, for some reason." "That's offensive!" Percy mock gasped, clutching his hand to his chest and his face of pretend horror. Annabeth swatted his hand away. "Stop being such a drama queen!" She sounded amused and annoyed at the same time. Percy fake pouted and did something that surprised them all- well, not really, but it still was kinda out of the blue: he leaned over and kissed Annabeth. "PDA! EWW! GROSSNESS ALERT!!!" Leo shouted, running around in circles and his hair on fire. Piper and Hazel rolled their eyes. "Boys." They said, getting up together, and leaving the room. Frank, who Jason forgot was still in the room, got up awkwardly and left, which left Jason alone with a screaming Leo and Percy & Annabeth still making out. Jason got up in boredom, pushing away his unfinished pizza on the table, deciding he'd eat it later. He slowly made his way up the stairs, his feet dragging against the wooden platforms. He creaked open his door and was in for a surprise: there was a black backpack on the desk, and it was filled with school supplies. "Cool." He said, plopping himself on the bed. He could here it groaning from the impact, but he ignored it. He heard snickers coming from the other room. Not bothering to figure out what was happening, he found the Ancient Architecture Book in Latin he borrowed from Annabeth and started reading for fun. ... One hour later... Jason slammed the book shut after admiring the ancient magic rectangles and pentagons. Pythagoras was a genius son of Athena. It was getting late, and his eyelids flickered. Yawning, Jason fell asleep in his clothes, not even bothering to change. Riiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg! Jason muttered a few curses to his alarm, then hauled himself up with his iron bedstead. He looked like he was wearing light blue jeans and a dark green T-shirt with no logo. He hopped off the bed to tie his sneakers and stood up. "Stupid alarm clock." He mumbled, stretching his sore arms and legs. Going to the bathroom, he washed his tired face with cold water and immediately woke up. He brushed his teeth and hopped downstairs to grab a meal. As he lagged down each stair, he wondered what the others were wearing. Percy had on darker jeans then Jason and a light blue shirt with three ultramarine stripes running near the collar. Frank had on a dark purple Hi, I'm Canada shirt, and he had a oversized pair of Lexi's. Leo was dressed in a simple brown, long sleeved shirt and black running shorts. Piper, Annabeth, and Hazel were dressed identically in Juicy Couture tunics that went to their mid-thighs and jeans. "Hi. Your pizza's in the fridge, and you have five minute to gorge it down. We just finished eating." Percy said, smirking, linking hands with Annabeth. Jason heated up his unfinished pizza in the microwave and started to eat. But before the last bite, Jason was sucked into a vortex of spinning colors... Frank felt like throwing up after the ride was over. All he saw were blurry images of his friends and something like the goddess Iris's rainbow store before they slammed on the ground. Hard. "Ouch! That was my leg!" He heard Hazel hiss. Squinting, he saw all his friends tangled up in one big pile, with Jason at the bottom and Annabeth at the top. "Sorry!" Leo meekly replied;. Annabeth got up, holding her head, and Leo and Percy came up next. Then Hazel and Piper clutched their throats, getting up, looking like they wanted to throw up. "We're going to experience that every day?" Frank asked, his dizziness abating as he stood up. Jason and Percy groaned, turning faint shades of green. "Look! That's Goode!" Percy said like an overexcited kid. The school was architecture and impressive, and intimidating too, just like Frank thought of Annabeth. For some reason, all seven of them had black Jansport backpacks already crammed with school supplies on. Annabeth's was the largest, and Leo's was the smallest. Frank wondered what was inside of Leo's. Matches? Machine oil? His tool belt? Nothing? The latter was probably correct. As soon as they went into school territory, random students stared at them unflinchingly, gossiping about them. "Isn't that Percy Jackson? The dorky one with the black hair near the pretty blonde girl-" "The girls are sooo pretty! I'm going to have a shot at them, especially the blonde and brunette-" "The brunette's pretty, maybe I'll date her-" "The blonde is mine. With looks like that, she could be a model-" "Who is that scrawny kid and that fat baby dude over there? Losers, I tell you-" "Ooh! The blonde kid with the handsome looks is so mine! I have dibs on him-" All of a sudden, a gang of boys almost as muscle packed as Frank blocked their way. The tall one, obviously the leader, and his two cronies, walked up. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He asked. Frank saw he had auburn hair, a skinny frame, but he swaggered like a jock, so Frank knew he had a six pack under the shirt. "That's Alan Brown, captain of the football team. He's a player, and he dates anything with long hair and boobs." Percy said with disgust. Annabeth, Piper and Hazel shrank away. "Hello, Percy." Alan spat the name out. "And hello there, sexy lady." He cooed at Annabeth. "What beautiful legs you have there." Annabeth had a flash of danger in her eyes, something Frank was glad to see. If anyone could beat up a jock, it was Annabeth. "Percy and I are hooked. You should know that." She stared harshly at Alan. "Go find yourself a fake who'll actually pretend to like you." "Burned!" Percy said, a angry fire burning in his eyes. Suddenly the nearby water fountain erupted and doused Alan and his so-called friends in water. "Ahhh! Freak accident with the water fountain!" Alan cried, screaming, while his "loyal" followers ran after him, running in fear. Frank cracked a smile. What a coward. A freak accident with the water fountain and he runs away. He thought. Hazel inched closer to him. "I officially hate high school." She whispered in his ear, shooting furtive glances around the entrance of the school. "Me too." He answered. "Let's get our schedules from the office." The Seven made their way to the office, walking up to the front desk where a clown-faced secretary was reading a Vogue magazine. "Hi. What can I help you kids with?" She asked in a bored monotone. "If you have any injuries, go to the left and keep on going straight until you pass the restrooms. then go to the door right next to it-" "No." Percy said, resting his hand on the office counter. "We're here to get our schedules. These are transfer students from California and Arizona: Piper McLean, Annabeth Chase, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Leo Valdez, and Jason Grace. And I believe I transfered from homeschool to here?" "Yes, here you go." The secretary waved her hand to a stack of papers near the flowerpot, where a dying orchid was growing. "Let's see... I have locker 245 and Biology, Room 3A, English, Room 5B, Swimming, in the Gym, Math, Room 7A, Social Sciences, Room 9B, and Physical Education, in the Gym." Percy read out, heading to his locker. Frank cleared his throat to go next. He could feel the stares of his friends as he began to read. "Locker 276, Biology, 3A, English, 5B, Cooking, Kitchen, Math, 7A, Social Sciences, 9B, P.E., Gym." He said. Leo stifled a laugh. "Dude, you take cooking?" He asked, holding his chest. "Anyways, I have the same schedule as all of you probably except third period, which I have as woodshop. Locker 233." Annabeth went next. "Ditto to Percy, except I take Architecture instead of Woodshop. I also have zero period, which doesn't start until next week. I'll be having Leadership as my extra period. And I got Locker 246." Hazel raised her hand for silence. "I have Cooking, too, like Frank. Locker 275" She smiled, and Frank shot her some happy looks. What an awesome girlfriend... He was glad they made up after their fight. Jason held up his paper. "Me and Piper have identical schedules. I have Leadership, and so does she. The only difference is our lockers: Mine is 247, and she has 244." The Seven stopped at their designated lockers and started to pile their things inside them. Annabeth's was neat and tidy, while Leo's was scrambled and kind of scorched. "Let's go!" Annabeth urged, and the demigods hurried to room 3A for their first biology lesson. "-Make sure you wear your safety goggles and gloves." Mr. Henshak droned on and on about science safety, causing Frank to almost fall asleep and yawn about a million times. "When is he going to be done?" He whispered to Hazel, who was propping her eyelids up to prevent them from drooping. "I don't know. This period ends in three more minutes." She replied, wiping the tears on her face that had formed because she was so bored. "Shh!" Annabeth glared at them as she intently scribbled notes on the notepad. Percy made the cuckoo sign at her behind her back. Leo had formed a paper crane, a paper helicopter, and a paper airplane from his notepad, and now was trying to make some kind of flower thing. Piper and Jason were staring at each other's eyes, not moving as the lesson went on. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg! The bell rang and the seven demigods shifted out of their seats. They followed the crowd as they moved slowly to their lockers to get their English textbooks. Frank felt Hazel's eyes piercing a hole in his shirt. She was curious to see what modern high school was like because she had never experienced it before. "It seems strange because Percy lied about our ages." She whispered to Frank. "Now everybody thinks I'm seventeen." "I know." Frank replied, bringing out the Literary Readings Textbook out and slinging it in his bag. "Believe me, I do know." Following Annabeth, who was confidently leading the way, they reached classroom 5B and stopped at the threshold. "Hi, Paul!" Annabeth smiled and gave the teacher, a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair and glasses a hug. "Hi Annabeth! How's my favorite and smartest student doing?" He replied, resulting in a "Hey!" by Percy. "You know it's true. I am his favorite student." Annabeth said, giving Percy a clap on his back. "But you're his favorite son." Mr. Blofis seemed like a nice teacher, scribbling something on the chalkboard and telling them to read it. While all the other demigods were squinting at the board, Frank could read it just fine. Now the hungry lion roars, And the wolf behowls the moon; Whilst the heavy ploughman snores, All with weary task fordone. Now the wasted brands do glow, Whilst the screeching owl, screeching loud, Puts the wretch that lies in woe In remembrance of a shroud. Now it is the time of the night, That the graves, all gaping wide, Every one lets forth his sprite In the church-way paths to glide, And we fairies, that do run. By the triple Hecate's team, From the presence of the sun, Following darkness like a dream, Now are frolic. Not a mouse Shall disturb this hallowed house. I am sent with broom before, To sweep the dust behind the door. From A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 5:1, Lines 365-384 By the time Percy and the others were done reading, the period was over and it was free period or study hall. Annabeth and the girls left for the latter, while Frank and the others went outside to play basketball. When suddenly came a girl that was seriously pretty, but not like Hazel. "Hi there! I'm Kylie" She said sweetly to Jason. "Who are you?" She giggled, a sweet, melodious sound. Frank realized that in High School, this would be their worst enemy. "I'm a boy who has a girlfriend." Jason replied, backing away. Frank didn't blame him. That girl was scary in a innocent way, though he suspected she wasn't innocent at all. "Not anymore, when you can have me." She crooned in a seductive sort of voice. Jason looked at all of them with a Help Me expression. "He's sticking with his girlfriend, but I have none." Leo said. Kylie looked at him like he was a piece of scum on a toilet seat. "Go away, loser." She practically spat. "You're below me with the wimps and the dorks. Leave me alone with this handsome young man "I'm his best friend!" Leo yelled. "You can't get me to leave him!" Kylie shot them a look of loathing and strutted away. "She did WHAT???" Piper exclaimed after the boys finished explaining what had happened during break in the cozy setting at the mansion. "She cornered me and tried to flirt with me. Did not work." Jason said for the fiftieth time. Hazel watched the scene with wide eyes. She had never experienced things like this in all her old life. "She's Percy's age. Probably doesn't know you're younger than her." Annabeth said, sitting on Percy's lap reading The Iliad. "That filthy hazi! Flirting with my boyfriend!" PIper raged. Jason put a hand on her shoulder, instantly calming her down. "Alan Brown and his crew were flirting with us today." Hazel blurted, remembering the scene in study hall."He tried to kiss Annabeth, and his cronies Gregory Thompson and Erik Ink were flirting with Piper and I, respectively." "WHAT????????!!!!!!!!!!!!" Percy cried in rage. Annabeth turned pale at the thought. Hazel instantly regretted saying it out loud. "He missed. I ducked in time and humiliated him in front of the whole class." Annabeth said quickly, sending a little glare to Hazel. "That git. Wait until he feels my wrath." Percy said, cracking his knuckles threateningly. Annabeth pecked him on the lips and the lovers left upstairs. "I wonder what they're planning." Leo said in a teasing tone. The other demigods rolled their eyes. Hazel stifled a laugh she had almost let out. "Definitely not what you're thinking, Leo." Piper said, breaking into giggles of laughter. Leo turned red as everybody else laughed at his comment. "I d- I mean I did- I mean like I did- I didn't mean it like that!" He cried, now a heavy shade of scarlet, same as the velvet rug he was trodding on. "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Listen. I hear something." Frank said, pointing up. Hazel perked her ears, and sure enough, she heard the mumbled voices of Percy and Annabeth. "Percy, do your homework or I'll call the rest of the demigods to tie you up." They heard the threatening voice of Annabeth. "Alright! Alright! But give me a kiss, first." Percy's anxious voice replied. "Please, Wise Girl?" The reply was muffled, but apparently Percy didn't get his kiss because just then Annabeth came downstairs. "Anyone got some rope?" She asked. It was late evening as the dying fire roared again when Hazel and Annabeth knitted scarves for all her friends of the Seven. "When did you learn to knit?" Annabeth asked curiously. Hazel shrugged, clicking her needles again and again. It was a comforting sound. "It's just a natural instinct, though I think my mother taught me how to do it... before my curse activated." She said, weaving the string through the small loop on the other needle. "My mother's Athena, so I just close my eyes and my hands do it themselves." Annabeth said. It was true, her scarves were better quality, and she had already made nine of them. Hazel knotted the cotton string and admired her handiwork. It was pretty, not store quality like Annabeth's, but in that homemade, cozy style. "I think we should go to bed." She said, stifling a yawn. "Sure." Annabeth said, brushing her hair. "It's been a long day for all of us." The two girls trudged up the stairs in sleepy and slow forms, each of them wanting to only fall on a pillow and pass out. She turned the doorknob into her purple, violet and lavender room. On the bedside was a pot of lavenders and violets, their fragrance only making her want to sleep more. Hazel dressed into her nightgown (She didn't like to wear pajamas), and as soon as her head fell on the pillow, she was asleep as fast as a candle dunked in water. She had a strange dream that night. Percy was on his bed, drooling, still tied in rope like Annabeth had left him like, and there was someone over him. It took her about five seconds to realize it was Annabeth. Annabeth untied the rope, and Percy woke up with a start. "Annabeth, what the Hades?" He whispered. She made a shhh gesture and plopped on the side of the bed. "I had a nightmare from Gaea... that I betrayed you... in the Giant War, and... you... died." She sobbed slightly. Percy sat up and put an arm around her gray owl pajamas. "How about you sleep with me?" He suggested, and Annabeth nodded and snuggled in gratefully, her head resting on his chest. Hazel realized she was still having ceiling view, and quickly turned away. She touched the wall, and it disappeared. She walked through it, and she saw Jason sleeping fitfully, his arms shaking and mumbling incoherent words. The thunderbolt alarm clock that had been installed yesterday was turning a dangerous shade of orange. Passing through the walls again, she saw Piper calmly sleeping, her face in utter bliss, which was hard to imagine because she was still in the pink, red and white room Aphrodite had given her. Hazel giggled and moved in. Leo was sleeping, his breath mingled with fire. It was a good thing his room was fireproof, as the fire extinguished as soon as it touched the wall, or else they would all be dead now. Passing, she saw Frank sleeping, a picture of him and her on the bedside drawer. She smiled gratefully and walked through the walls to her own room. Hazel saw herself sleeping peacefully on the bed, and she gratefully dived in, herself mingling with real Hazel... and then... Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnngggggg! "Schist alarm clock." She muttered, hitting the Off button. Today was a Saturday. She could sleep later, or until any time she wanted. She blinked open her eyes, and saw the violet alarm clock propped on the wall, it's format of growing crystals. Groaning profanities to alarm clocks around the world, she got up. Dressing into jeans and a I <3 New York T-shirt, she yawned and stretched her arms and legs. After brushing her teeth and showering, she was ready to go. Hazel stepped downstairs to see she and Jason were the only ones awake. "Hi." She said awkwardly, plopping down a sunny-side-up egg and some blueberry muffins. "Hey." He said, dousing his waffles with maple syrup. Hazel took a bite of her muffin. It was good, the sweetness spreading throughout her tongue. "Bad dreams?" She asked, peering at the dark circles on his eyes. Jason shrugged, not meeting her eyes. "Gaea told me a few things, but they aren't true. She's vanquished anyways, so I don't know why she even bothers to try." He said, staring into the distance. "Oh, Percy's here. Now we can finally try our one on one sword fighting." Hazel wondered what was bothering him so much, but she was smart enough not to probe. She guessed Annabeth wasn't the only one with gruesome nightmares. Leo didn't know how he felt about Hazel. She was cute, smart, pretty, and all those things, but she was Frank's GIRLFRIEND already. Finishing his Taco Bell Chicken Burrito, he lit his hand on fire and burned the wrapper to ashes. He drowsily slurped the Coca-Cola he had gotten downstairs. "Hey, Leo?" Piper's face appeared in the threshold as she opened the door to his room. Leo quickly hid his Coke behind his back. "Yeah, Piper?" He asked, trying to sound innocent, as if he was and wasn't drinking Coca-Cola when he was supposed to be doing his Math homework (Stupid Algebra teachers that assigned homework on the first day of school!!!). "Leo, I know you're drinking Coke. I heard you downstairs." Piper said. "And I came to ask you something. Jason's not the same. He's different, somehow. I don't know what, but Hazel says he told her he's been having bad dreams. But he won't tell me what he's dreaming about." "I think he's alright." Leo said, getting off the half-charred armchair in his room. (Hephaestus was a freakin' genius). "Leo, just help. Even Percy admitted Jason's not right. You're his best friend. What do you think happened to him?" Piper said anxiously. Leo realized there was something wrong with Jason. He seemed more distant, more distracted. And then he realized it. "He told be his fatal flaw, once. He made me to Swear on the River Styx not to tell anybody. Gaea's using that to her advantage. And what's the square root of 225?" "Not telling you, Leo. And NO using that calculator on your desk." Piper snatched away the said object and left the room. Leo needed to get to work. Carrying himself off the armchair and onto the hard, wooden chair was hard, but he managed it. "What is... um... ANNABETH!!!" He yelled, and the scary blond girl suddenly burst open his door in panic and looked inside. "What, Leo, is there a monster or anything? Oh gods, I should have been ready for this!" She said, wringing her hands in the air. "No, I just need tutoring in Math." Leo said. Annabeth sighed and brought another chair to the table, scooting next to him. "I've already had to tutor Piper, Jason, Percy, and Hazel. And Frank. And since now is the time we're growing out of our dyslexia, why the Hades do you need help?" She said. "Because... um... I don't freakin' GET THIS!!" He yelled, his hair bursting on fire and threatening to set the chair off. "Oopsies." "You don't get what the square root to 225 subtracted by the square root by the square root by 9025 is?" Annabeth scoffed. "I learned that in first grade." "Then what is it?" Leo asked, staring at the paper. "What is the square root to 225, and what's the square root to 1025?" "15x15=225, 25x25=625, 35x35=1225, 45x45=2025, 55x55=3025, 65x65=4225, 75x75=5625, 85x86=7225, 95x95=9025. Repeat after me." "95-15= the answer." Leo asked. "Thanks for the answers, Annabeth." He said, giving her a hug. Annabeth paused, then hugged him back. "You know, you really are a really annoying little brother." She said, smiling. And Leo realized that she actually was really beautiful when she was happy. Leo finally, with help from Annabeth, finished his homework in a record twenty minutes. After giving another hug for Annabeth, he was ready to go to school and hopefully not get any detention. Except for the fact he was in the front seat in all his classes except English. He yawned of boredom, then looked at the time. 6:45, and they hadn't ate dinner yet. Shaking his head in disapproval, he made his way downstairs and rang the dinner bell. "DINNER!!" He yelled, his stomach grumbling. Frank, Percy, Piper and Hazel appeared, sitting on various spots in the table. And yet the empty spots of Annabeth and Jason were obviously absent. "I'm going to check on them." Percy said, making his way upstairs. His absence made the whole scene more lonely. "I don't feel like we're the Seven anymore." Piper said sadly. "We're breaking apart. We aren't a team anymore." And Leo had to agree with her on that one. Percy came back down and sat on his seat. "Annabeth was sleeping on Leo's desk, and Jason's sleeping in his room. Didn't want to wake them up, but why was she in your room?" He eyed Leo sternly. "She helped me finish my Algebraic equations. That's all." Leo said. "We have nothing going on between us because I'm single. Perfect for checking out the cute girls in school." Everybody either hid a snicker or rolled their eyes at his comment, but he ignored it. Continuing, he beamed at them. "Nobody can resist my irresistible charm. They're hopeless against it." Piper snorted. "More like they're irresistible against your hopeless charm." She said, and everybody laughed at Leo's expense. "HEY!" He yelled, and the mood of the empty dining room improved the slightest bit. Giving up, he laughed with the others as they pointed out more humorous things about the Seven. Percy was rejected in Goode. This wasn't unusual, as he had always been shoved around there. He had been a sort of scrawny kid three years ago, and people still remembered him as the loser he was. He had to suffer and watch Alan flirt with his girlfriend shamelessly, and Frank and Jason balled their fists when they saw who was hanging with their girlfriends. He desperately needed to get popular. Fast. He needed a plan, which for once could not be depended on Annabeth. So he thought one for himself, and Frank, and Leo, because he felt sorry for that Latino kid with the curly hair. He deserved a girl, too. The last three girls he had flirted with were Thalia, Reyna, and Hazel. Thalia had whacked him on the head with her bow, Reyna had almost set her automaton dogs on him, and Frank punched Leo's face. Sad. It was break again, and as usual Jason was surrounded by his fan club and the girls were surrounded by Alan's gang. That left Leo and Frank and himself sitting on the sidelines. "Listen, guys." He muttered, making sure no kids or adults were near them. "I've got a plan to make us popular..." The end- yeh... no. You thought I finished, didn't you. Yeah right. Tricked ya'! :P. "Are you FREAKING KIDDING ME?" Frank asked, his beefy left hand about to punch the wall. "If this fails, we'll be expelled and Hazel will never let me hear the end of this." "But if this succeeds..." Percy trailed off, staring wistfully at his girlfriend. She scowled at some lame joke Alan cracked, and looked ready to crack his head open. No pun intended. "You're right." Frank said, looking at Hazel. "Fine then, I agree. Leo, if you agree, this doesn't mean you can have my girlfriend." "I don't know about this. Annabeth said your plans were generally failures designed to get people killed." Leo said, pretending to be thinking. "HEY!" Percy exclaimed, his face turning beet red. "It's the truth, and you know it." Leo said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "But hey, I agree to the Terms and Conditions of your plan." "Since when did you have such a expanded vocabulary?" Frank questioned the two of them. "Annabeth." They answered as one, flashing a grin. "Plan 1-A, ready to function." Leo said, smiling. Annabeth was curious. Percy had been acting very, very strange in the past few days. Instead of hanging out with her, he was always muttering with Frank and Leo in a hidden corner or something. It sounded like some cliche movie about a killer boyfriend or something. It was Friday, and the bell finally rang to signify dismissal to class. The seven hid in Paul's room while they teleported home. "Percy." Annabeth said, her gray ayes glinting in the darkness. "Percy, where are you?" Because she knew that she was not at the mansion. She knew, just knew. "Annabeth?" Jason's confused voice asked. "Where are you? Do you know where we are?" He sounded almost scared. "Did someone kidnap us again?" Hazel asked. "Where are you, Frank!" She called. There was no reply at all. "Jason, I'm here." Piper's sweet voice yelled. Annabeth blindly made her way across the darkness, then suddenly pulled out her dagger as a second thought. The knife glinted in the darkness, and she could make out the silhouettes of Jason, Piper and Hazel. "Where's Percy, Frank and Leo?" Annabeth muttered. "They don't seem to be here, unless... they're unconscious or kidnapped away from us?" "We'll split apart. My sword glows, and Hazel will come with me, and Piper with you." Jason said. "I wonder how big is this room." In the end, the four gave up and were about to meet up, when Annabeth found a door handle at the very edge. "Guys, look! A door!" She could hear Hazel and Jason running to where her voice and light was. It was an exquisitely carved door handle, and by the way it was made, she knew it wasn't locked and that she knew it opened to the inside. She pulled the handle, and was completely stunned at what she saw next. She was staring at something white and bright, and a powerful presence that chilled her bones. Panting, she crashed back into the room. "I don't ever want to know what was that." She could hear Hazel mumbling to Jason. "We have to get out of here." Jason said, somehow managing to sound calm and composed. "Oh gods. Something tells me Leo, Frank and Percy were involved." Annabeth said, her mind twiriling. "What set them apart unlike the rest of us?" "They weren't popular." Piper suggested. "That's it!" Annabeth realized. "They probably pulled some scam to make themselves even more 'likable'." "We have to stop them before it goes out of hand." Piper said. "Let's go." Hazel said. "Is there another exit?" Jason asked. "I think we're in the cellar." Annabeth said. "Of the mansion. That door we opened, maybe that's the barrier between monsters and this house, Like Camp Half-Blood." "So... we need to go up." Piper said. "Right?" "Yep." Annabeth smiled. "Everyone, prepare to use your swords and get out of here." Her hands seemed to know what they were doing, and she sliced through the ceiling easily. Light began to stream everywhere. "That's it, people!" She could hear Jason. "We're doing it!" The light detoriated into things she could see easily. And then she recognized the place. This was the place just beyond the kitchen. And it was completely trashed, with Percy, Frank and Leo standing in the middle of it. "What. Were. You. Thinking?" Annabeth demanded to Leo, Frank and Percy as they cowered in a corner of a room. "If Goode knew you were having parties all night on school nights, you would be expelled on the spot." "We just wanted to be popular-" Leo managed, but Piper cut them off. "That's not how you get popularity! You have to earn it!" She cried, wringing her hands. "And holding parties is only for desperate people who want to try and become awesome!" "I'm sorry, Annabeth." Percy mumbled. "So sorry." "Me too." Frank said, his big face all red and he wouldn't look at them. "Ditto. Leo said, trying to avoid Annabeth's death glare. "Percy, as punishment for your deeds, you need to finish reading the playscript for A Midnight's Summer Dream, and give me an overview. And no using my laptop. And i'm not kissing you until you finish." Annabeth said sternly. Percy paled considerably. "Frank, I know you hate math, so I bought you an IP math workbook!" Annabeth said sweetly, smiling. "You have two weeks to finish it, starting tomorrow." Frank moaned and groaned about the horrible aspects of algebra and geometry. "And Leo?" Annabeth asked. He jerked his head with a start and looked at her. "You have the same punishment as Percy except I have to confiscate your tool belt for a month." Leo looked like he was going to faint. Jason stood large-eyed in the hallway watching them. "I have to remember never to get on Annabeth's bad side." He mumbled. "You don't." Piper remarked, joining her boyfriend on the sidelines. Annabeth left the three boys to themselves and gracefulyy glided to her own room, smiling. "That'll teach them." She mumbled. "Yep." Piper agreed. "That'll teach them." Following the party incident yesterday,the boys had cleaned up every single bit of the mansion, dutifully started on their tasks, and were downright moping. "Jason?" Annabeth asked in the living room when they were alone. "If I catch you helping anyone on their tasks, I'll make sure you get one of your own. They're not so hard, either. I've already finished everything I assigned the boys." "Says the daughter of Athena." Jason replied under his breath. "I heard that!" Annabeth cried. "I'm warning you, Jason Grace, that this is your first strike. And three strikes and you are out." "Sorry!" Jason interjected hastily. "Must have slipped out. Sorry." "You better be." Annabeth muttered. "He didn't mean it." Piper said, coming down the stairs. "But the boys are so- ugh- immature!" "What did they do?" Annabeth asked with a bored tone. "Leo went on his knees and started begging me to help him because it was torture and he needed his tool belt." Piper said. "Wow." Jason said, wide-eyed. "And has anyone seen Hazel?" "Yes." Annabeth said. "She was in the library the whole time." "I can't beleive I missed her!" Jason said. "I didn't notice she was missing." Annabeth snorted. "This is the Percy side of Jason." She remarked. Piper giggled. "Hey!" Jason remarked. And the duo burst out of laughter at the look on his face. Leo blinked, his mind in a endless stupor that went on and on. He could feel the area on his hip where his tool belt was supposed to be, but there was nothing. He started to panic, hyperventilate. No reason to do it, then do it. That was the basis of his life, after all. And then he remembered his punishment from Annabeth. Groaning, he shook his head and looked around to where he was. He was leaning against the wall on the kitchen, pots and pans threatnening to clang over him and smash his head to pieces as they hung over him. He shuddered, wondering what he was doing here. He must have fallen asleep sometime. Looking at the clock on the kitchen wall, he groaned. It was 6:33, and Leo Valdez would never be seen getting up so early. Yet he was not tired, and his eyelids refused to close. Cursing at the god of sleep, Hypnos or Morpheus or whoever that was, he slowly made his way upstairs. He had just finished showering when the alarm clocks started ringing, loudly and obnoxiously. He could hear the angry mutters of his fellow demigods, and the scrapes from the bedposts against the ground. "Holy Hephaestus!" Leo heard someone say. "It's been a week at school already?" It sounded like a boy's voice. "Welcome to the real world, Seaweed Brain." Another female voice answered. So Percy and Annabeth talking in one room. Instant juicy blackmail. "Damn the alarm clocks." He heard someone else say. Jason would never say that, so it had to be Frank. "Language!" He could hear Hazel yell back. So Hazel and Frank, talking through the walls. "Good morning, Sparky." Piper. Sparky? Leo thought. Blackmail point one for Leo. "Good morning, Pipes." Jason. Pipes. Maybe I can give her pipe cleaners for her birthday. After all, blackmail point two for Leo. No one made any mention of his name, which made him feel lonely and depressed. So he did the only natural thing that came to his mind - dash downstairs to get food. Breakfast was subdued, and Leo noticed dark circles around Frank and Percy's eyes. The party. He thought, wondering if he also had black markings below his eye. Probably not, since he had woke up early. The Seven lined up against the wall, and through the vortex Leo managed to keep standing and hold his food down. And then before he knew it, he was facing big, imposing Goode, the rusty bricks and architecture same as ever. Only this time, something was different. People were staring at all of them with awe when they walked by in the courtyard. "Awesome party, dudes!" One jock was telling Percy. "Make sure you host another one!" Someone yelled at Frank. "Hey, cutie." He heard someone say to him. He turned around. There was Kylie, makeup smeared all over her face, simpering at Jason. No, not at Leo. Jason. The handsome, powerful one. Not the scrawny one with machine oil streaked through his hair. And with that, Leo vowed he would get a girlfriend here, too. You know, Leo? Someone said. He looked around. Nobody was looking at him. Who's there? He thought. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, of course. She answered back, a tinkling laugh like a wind chime sweeping across her throat. Are you going to help me? He thought. Why else would a goddess talk to him, unless she needed help from him, which was highly unlikely. Of course I am. I love a good love story, after all. Aphrodite cooed. You know, I can give you a shot for Hazel. I love a good love story, after all. Really? Leo thought. So I might be paired with Hazel in the end? Yes, my little hero. Aphrodite laughed. After all, getting a girlfriend is definitely in my department! Nobody seems to like guys like me. Leo stated. I'm a hopeless cause, though. No you aren't. Aphrodite argued. Nobody's hopeless- just a little tinkering in love magic and then they'll be likeable. Like what I blessed to Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez when they said they believed in me. But Taylor Swift looks almost exactly like Annabeth and Selena Gomez Piper. What do you mean blessed? Leo wondered. Oh Leo. The goddess of love simpered. You are absolutely adorable. Go, and try your best with Hazel. I'll be by your side when you need me. And with that, the goddess of love disappeared and left a puzzled Leo standing midst the crowd of high-schoolers. Jason ducked behind a locker as Kylie walked past him, chatting with her 'popular' and 'pretty' friends. "You're a bit in a pickle, aren't you?" Someone said behind him. He jumped, then realized the person was a frizzy redhead with green eyes. "Rachel?" Jason asked in astonishment. "Yep. The one and only Oracle of Delphi. This was the place where me and Perce became friends, after all. I used to go here, and then I switched here again." Rachel said, smiling, her ponytail swinging. She looked like a completely different person wearing the Goode uniform and ponytail, along with no bandana tied around her head. "Jason, you've grown. Gimme a hug, there." Jason smiled, and bear-hugged Rachel. Someone dropped their books near them with a loud thud. He looked at none other than his girlfriend Piper, staring at the duo in shock. "Pipes?" He asked incredously. Piper ran, her face buried in her arms, running away and out of sight. "I'm sorry, Jason." Rachel said. "I'm eternally a maiden, so I really didn't mean for that to happen." "It wasn't your fault." Jason said, his throat tightening. "It was just a misunderstanding." Rachel left, her ponytail going every direction, and Jason watched her leave, a lump in hs stomach. Piper refused to even look at Jason for the day, and he couldn't bear it. She had been purposely ignoring him, but everytime he tried to talk to her, he would be stopped by either Hazel or Annabeth. The clock read 11:34 P.M. Yawning, Jason made his way out of bed and toward the door. It opened with a gentle creak, and he silently walked up to Piper's door and knocked. "Hazel? Is that you?" He heard Annabeth say. Jason could hear her making her way toward the door. When she saw who it was, she tried to close, it, but Jason slipped his hand in the crack of the door. She paused. "I want to talk to Piper." Jason said. "She doesn't want to talk to you." ANnabeth replied, trying to shut the door without hurting his hand. Jason didn't bother fighting back, since that daughter of Athena could beat him up easily. He struggled and eventually made his way in. "Piper, I was hugging Rachel." He said, panting. "Rachel?" Annabeth asked. "You mean the Oracle?" "Yep." Jason said. "She just wanted to say hello." Piper's sobs subsided. "Are you sure?" She sniffed. "Yes." Jason said, trying to meet the eye of his girlfriend. "She transferred from her old school to Goode." Annabeth giggled suddenly. "Oh, this is so funny." She said putting a hand to her chest. They both looked at her. "Sorry." SHe wheezed. "Inside joke. I'll leave you two some space." And then she closed the door. "That was weird." Piper said, wiping her eyes on the blankets. "Yep." Jason replied. "Since when has Annabeth been acting like that?" "I dunno." Came his answer. "You know, Rachel's technically a maiden forever, so I can't fall in love with her." Jason said, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend. "I'm sorry for being such a jealous girlfriend." Piper said. "It's just that I didn't-" "Recognize her?" Jason asked. She nodded. "Rachel's sure different without her hood and bandanna. Just remember, Pipes. I will never leave you for anyone in the world, even Reyna." "Me too, Sparky." Piper's lips turned upwards in a smile. "I'll akways be with you." And then, as if drawn by a magnetic force, he leaned forward, and she leaned forward, and they had a long, passionate kiss. "Lovebirds." He heard someone snicker. Looking toward the sound in alarm, he saw Leo holding a camera along with the rest of the Seven. "How long have you been watching us?" He demanded. "Since I left." Annabeth said with a coy smile. "Percy got the rest to come here, and now we have a... Jiper moment." "Jasper." Percy argued, one arm around his girlfriend. "Jiper." "Jasper." "Jiper's got a ring to it." "Jasper's more fair." "Seaweed Brain, you actually know what fair means?" "Shut up, Wise Girl." Piper looked at him. "WHo's moment is it- ours or theirs?" "Let's get the camera back, then ask." "Good idea. On the count of three... one- two- THREE!" And then they lunged toward the camera in Leo's hand. He moved it quickly. "Not so fast, are you, Grace?" He taunted, throwing the camera. "Frank!" "I got it!" Said the big guy, waving the camera. "Hazel!" Hazel caught it quickly. "Annabeth!" Annabeth recieved it and passed it to Percy. "Seaweed Brain!" And then Percy darted out of the room. "See ya later, Grace!" "Jackson! Get back here!" And he heard the others laugh as he chased Percy Jackson down the halls with Piper by his heels. Rachel felt terrible. She had grown close to Jason and Piper and Leo after working so hard together to help get Percy back. So when she saw Jason again, she just had to give him a hug. And then Piper had to take it the wrong way. She brushed the stray hair out of her face and then looked forward again. There was nobody in the empty halls, and she was glad of it. Piper was in study hall, so she could just pop in and then apologize in private. She creeped forward, careful not to make a sound. No tile gave a groan when she stepped on it, no locker echoed her soft footsteps. She wouldn't be questioned why she was in school when she supposedly had a doctor appointment. That's when the bell signalling third period rang. RIIIINNNNNGG! Cursing in Ancient Greek, Rachel grabbed her books and ran to her algebra classroom. Her chance to talk to Piper had passed. After school, Rachel tried calling several contacts, including Annabeth, Percy, and Jason, which all failed. Sighing, she gave up trying to call them and instead lowered herself into the soft plush cushion of her bed. That's when her cell-phone started ringing. She picked it up with a jolt, realizing who it must be. She opened the phone. "Hello, Rachel?" A female voice asked. "Yes. Look, you know I can't date-" "I know." Piper said. "You do?" Rachel answered, bewildered. "Yep. Jason told me the whole story." "What did he tell you?" "The Oracle's a maiden forever, and that that hug you gave him was just a friendly one." Piper answered. "And then Annabeth started going mentally retarded and started laughing, saying somthing about how cute we were together and how this was so funny." "Oh. Don't worry, Piper. Your best friend's not going crazy." Rachel said, cracking a smile. "It was just an inside joke." "Are you sure?" "Yep. 100%. Do you really want to know why?" "Why?" "It's just because I used to like Percy." Silence. Utter silence. "Hello?" "I'm still here." Piper said. "It's just that it's so hard to sink in, that you of all people liked Percy..." "Yep. Me and Annabeth used to positively hate each other. She was furious that Percy sorta liked me, and I liked him, and we were so close to getting hooked. We were like two cats competing over a dead mouse." "Really? But... you and Annabeth... don't you like each other?" "Regard my dead mouse comment, and then think about the fact I dumped Percy later and became the Oracle." "Hey!" Said another voice over the phone. "First of all, we were never together, and second, I AM NOT A DEAD MOUSE!!" "Percy, go away and stop eavsdropping!" Piper's voice sounded on the phone. She was evidently amused. "But you called me a dead mouse!" Percy replied in a whiny tone. No Annabeth to reign him in this time. She thought, smiling. "Just typical Percy." Rachel chuckled. "Don't worry, if you're a mouse, at least you have a bigger brain." "Hey!"